Automatic railway car coupler with multiple contact electric portion



R. K. FRILL I 3,472,396 AUTOMATIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER WITH MULTIPLE Oct. 14, 1969 CONTACT ELECTRIC PORTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1967 INVENTOR. RICHARD K. FRILL WW 7 9 ATTORNEY Oct. 14, 1969 R. K. FRILL 3 AUTOMATIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER WITH MULTIPLE CONTACT ELECTRIC PORTION v 2 Sheets-Sheet :2

Filed June 26. 1967 INVENTOR. RICHARD KFRILL ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,472,396 AUTOMATIC RAILWAY CAR COUPLER WITH MULTIPLE CONTACT ELECTRIC PORTION Richard K. Frill, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,574 Int. Cl. B61g 5/10; B60d 7/00 US. Cl. 213-1.3 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An automatic railway car coupler having counterpart multiple-contact units in each mating head and in which a certain block or portion of the multiple-contact unit, in either of the coupler heads, may be manually retracted out of contact with the counterpart multiple-contact unit of the mating coupler head, without uncoupling the coupler heads, while a certain other block or portion associated with the retracted contact unit is retained in closedcircuit relationship with the counterpart contact unit for keeping certain essential circuits closed during such time that the one contact unit is in a retracted position with the coupler heads in a coupled relation.

Some of the presently known automatic car couplers automatically effect the electrical train circuitry and air pressure pipe connections, along with the mechanical car coupling, when coupling is made. Such automatic car couplers may also be provided with means whereby the electrical contact unit in either one of the coupler heads of any car may be manually retracted, without uncoupling the respective coupler heads, for breaking the electrical circuitry connections for any car in which an electrical malfunction may occur, thus permitting such car to be electrically isolated without uncoupling it from the train. Notwithstanding any electrical failure in a particular car of the train and that such car can be electrically isolated without removing it from the train, it is essential that the continuity of certain electrical train circuits be maintained, if possible, for safe train operation. Some such circuits, for example, would be door-opening and closing circuits (in the case of rapid transit trains), tail or stop light circuits (notwithstanding that the defective car may be at the rear end of the train or in some other position therein), heater circuits (in case of passenger cars operating during cold weather), or communications circuits.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an improved automatic railway car coupler having multiple-contact electric portions which are operative automatically, upon coupling and uncoupling of the car coupler, for closing and opening, respectively, the electrical train circuits connected thereto, but which multiple-contact electric portions, except for a certain number of preselected contacts, may be manually retracted, without uncoupling the car coupler, to a circuitry-breaking position while maintaining closed continuity of the preselected circuits.

The invention comprises an electric, multiple-contact unit carried in each of the coupler heads of an automatic railway car coupler for making frictional engagement, contact-for-contact, upon coupling engagement of the coupler heads. Each multiple-contact unit is slidably mounted in the coupler head with limited lost-motion means to insure contact making and breaking and with spring cushioning for absorbing the impact caused by the coming together of the coupler heads during automatic coupling action. The individual contacts of the contact units are of the frictionally-engaging type which, once engaged,

tend to resist separation upon uncoupling of the coupler heads. Respective pre-rated tension springs acting on the respective multiple-contact units cause the contact units, upon uncoupling of the coupler heads, to be separated with a snap-action when said tension spring overcome the collective frictional forces of the several contacts, thereby reducing arcing to a minimum during such separation. A certain main portion or block of each of the multiple-contact units is manually retractable, without uncoupling the coupler heads, to a circuit-breaking position in the event it is necessary to interrupt the electrical circuitry in any particular car in which an electrical malfunction may have occurred. Each of the multiplecontact units carries, as a part thereof, certain portions consisting of separate supplementary blocks of contacts to which preselected circuits, such as the car-door opening and closing circuit, tail light circuit, or train communication circuit, for example, are connected. These separate blocks of contacts, in turn, are so slidably supported with a limited lost-motion arrangement relative to the main contact block as to remain in a closed-com tact condition during such time that the main block of contacts is in its manually retracted position or until the coupled heads themselves are uncoupled.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially cut away, of a multiple-contact electric portion of an automatic railway car coupler; FIG. 2 is an elevational sectional view on the same scale as FIG. 1 of the electric portion shown in FIG. 1, as taken along line 11-11 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; FIG. 3 is a plan view, on a larger scale, of a certain portion of the electric contact portion shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is an elevational sectional view on the same scale as FIG. 3, taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, and FIG. 5 is an elevational view on the same scale as FIGS. 3 and 4, taken along line V--V of FIG. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION FIG. 1 illustrates a multiple-contact electrical circuitry-connection portion only, represented generally by the reference numeral 1, of an automatic railway car coupler. The automatic car coupler, of which the electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1 is a component, is illustrated and described in greater detail in a copending application of John S. Elder et al., filed June 27, 1966, Ser. No. 560,528, now Patent No. 3,385,454 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. It will suffice herein, therefore, to merely state that the automatic car coupler, as disclosed in the aforementioned copending application, automatically effects mechanical coupling of two adjacent cars, connects the train pipe lines and effects connection of the several electrical train circuits.

The electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1 shown in FIG. 1 is adapted to be carried (by suitable means not shown) in the lowermost vertical position on the car coupler relative to the train pipe connecting and car coupling portions (not shown), and comprises a casing 2 in which a multiple-contact unit 3, as seen in FIG. 2, is contained, a cover 4 being removably secured on said casing and being shown as partly cut away in FIG. 1 to permit a top view of the multiple-contact unit 3. Watertight fittings 5 are secured to the rear portion of the casing through which the wires or electrical conductors (not shown) constituting the train circuitry extend to be connected to individual contacts 6, the number of such contacts being determined by the number of electrical circuits needed.

Each of the contacts 6, which are a standard commercial type, comprises a plastic casing having self-locking tongues and grooves arranged on the exterior thereof so that any number of such contact members may be assembled in block form to make up each of the multiplecontact units 3, while a plurality of rods 7 (see FIG. 4) are disposed transversely therethrough to provide rigidity, said casing having a closed end opposite an open end. A spring metal element or finger, having one end anchored in the closed end of the plastic casing, is disposed at a slight angle relative to the longitudinal axis of said casing so as to enter the open end of an oppositely disposed contact casing on the counterpart contact unit for making sliding frictional contact with a similar finger in said oppositely disposed contact casing, when the coupler heads come together. The total friction between the several fingers of the contact units 3 is effective for frictionally locking said contact units in a contactmaking relationship. The same total friction also yieldingly resist separation of the engaged contact units 3 during uncoupling of the coupler heads, and is therefore partly effective, as will be more fully explained hereinafter, in causing said contact units to be separated with a snap action, thereby minimizing electrical arcing between the contact elements at the instant of separation.

The multiple-contact unit 3 comprises a main contact portion or block 8 of a preselected number of contacts 6, said main contact block being carried by a support frame consisting of a horizontally disposed upper plate 9 slidably supported at opposite sides by narrow ledges or rails (not shown) formed internally of easing 2 at each side and adjacent the top thereof. Each of the ledges has fastened thereto a rail or strip (not shown) of wear-resistant material having a low coefficient of friction such as nylon, for example, on which the plate 9 may slide with relative ease between certain limits as will be described hereinafter. The support frame further comprises two vertically disposed side members 10, one at each end of the main block 8 and bolted to the upper plate 9, and a horizontally disposed lower plate 11 bolted to said side members. See FIGS. 1 through 4. The respective ends of the rods 7, above mentioned, are anchored in the side members 10.

For purposes of simplification in describing the electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1, the end thereof adjacent the multiple-contact unit 3 will be hereinafter referred to as the forward or abutting end of face, whereas the other end in which the watertight fittings are disposed will be referred to as the rearward end.

As may be seen in FIGS. 1 through 3, the support plate 9 has an elongated slot 12 formed therein substantially midway between the sides and into which slot a pin 13 fixed in the cover section 4 extends. Upon rearward or forward sliding movement of the main contact block 8 on the rails (not shown), as will hereinafter be described, the pin 13 contacts the forward and rearward ends, respectively, of the slot 12 to thereby limit such sliding movement. The contact unit 3 is normally biased toward the forward end of the circuitry-connecting portion 1 to a normal or disengaged position (when the coupler head is uncoupled), to be more fully described hereinafter, by two springs 14 (only one of which is shown), The springs 14 are caged between the rearward end wall of casing 2 and respective spring seats 15, said spring seats each being fixed to one end of a spring seat stem 16 which, in turn, is slidingly supported in a bracket 17 internally suspended from the cover 4, the other end of said stem normally making abutting contact with a push pad 18 fixed to the underside of the upper support plate 9. The springs 14 are under predetermined compression when the spring seats 15 are in abutting contact with the brackets 17, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2. Of course, rearward movement of the main contact block 8 of the contact unit 3 out of its normal position, as will later be described, acts through the push pads 18, spring seat stems 1'6, and spring seats 15 to further compress springs 14 accordingly.

The multiple-contact unit 3, as previously noted herein, is adapted for having each of the contacts 6 make sliding frictional engagement, contact-for-contact, with the contacts 6 of the contact unit 3 carried on the counterpart coupler head (not shown) when two cars are moved into coupled relation. Such engagement of the contact units 3 is effected automatically during the coupling operation. It may become desirable and even necessary, however, to break the electrical circuitry between two coupled cars in the event of electrical malfunctioning in one of the cars, while, at the same time, it may not be practical or desirable to remove the car from the train. In such an event, means are provided on the electrical portion 1 of the coupler for retracting the main contact block 8 of the multiple-contact unit 3 to a disengaged or retracted posi tion in which it is moved and may be maintained out of contact with the contact unit 3 on the counterpart coupler head while the car-coupling portions (not shown) of the coupler heads remain in a couple-d relation.

A shaft 19 is rotatably journaled in the bottom of casing 2 adjacent the rearward end thereof with one end of said shaft situated outside of the casing and the other end inside, as may best be seen in FIG. 2. The outside of shaft 19 (see PEG. 1) has removably secured thereto one end of a lever 20 extending perpendicularly therefrom toward one side of the electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1. The lever 20, which may be removed from the shaft 19 and stored out of the way when not in use, is long enough to extend beyond the lateral limit of the circuitry-connecting portion 1 so as to be accessible for manipulation in effecting rotation of the shaft 19, which has a finger member 21 extending perpendicularly from the inside end thereof. See FIGS. 1 and 2.

A torsion spring 22 encircling the shaft 19 acts to rotatably bias said shaft in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, to thereby maintain the finger member 21 in contact with a pin 23 disposed perpendicularly in one end of a link member 24, the other end of said link being fixed, as by welding, to the underside of the upper support plate 9 of the multiple-contact unit 3. The torsion spring 22, acting through finger 21, pin 23 and link 24, is of such predetermined torque rating as to maintain the push pads 18 on the support plate 9 of contact unit 3 in contact against the ends of spring seat stems 16 without moving the spring seats 15 out of contact with the brackets 17, respectively. See FIG. 2. Moreover, the torque rating of torsion spring 22 is such that when two coupled contact units 3 are separated by uncoupling operation of the cars, the torsion of said spring, acting through the finger member 21, pin 23 and link 24, is effective, after a certain amount of separating movement of the mating heads, and therefore of the respective contact units 3, for overcoming the total frictional resistance offered by the several contacts 6 and thereby causing separation of said contact units with a snap action, thus minimizing harmful electrical arcing between the contacts during such separation. A second torsion spring 25, as may best be seen in FIG. 2, may be provided on the shaft 19 outside of the casing 2 to assist spring 22 if it is found that the latter does not provide sufiicient torque for effecting the snap action above mentioned.

In order to protect the contact units 3 and other internal mechanisms of the circuitry-connecting portion 1 when in an uncoupled relation, a protective cover or door 26 automatically moves over the face of the contact unit into a closed position, as the cars are separated, and moves into an open position, in which the contacts 6 of the contact unit 3 are exposed, when the cars are brought together and coupled. The operation of the protective cover 26 and the mechanism therefor are described in detail in the aforementioned copending application, and further description thereof in this application is not deemed essential.

During final action of the coupler mating heads (not shown), and therefore of the circuitry-connecting portions 1 into complete coupling engagement, the respective contact units 3 are precisely aligned by a guide pin 27 projecting perpendicularly from the face of the contact unit and by a recess (not shown) provided in said face (see FIGS. 1 and 2), said pin and said recess being so disposed that, during coupling operation, the guide pin on one mating head registers with and is received by the recess on the other mating head, and vice versa. The protective cover 26 is provided with a slot 28 for accommodating the guide pin 27 when said cover is closed.

During coupling operation of two cars and upon initial contact of the contact unit 3 with the contact unit on the counterpart mating head, said contact unit moves rearwardly by sliding on the hereinbefore-mentioned support rails against the opposition of springs 14, said springs being effective, when the coupler head is in an uncoupled position, for normally holding the contact unit in an extended position projecting slightly beyond the forward end or abutting face of easing 2. As the contact unit 3 is moved rearwardly by abutment with the counterpart contact unit, the springs 14 are increasingly compressed and force the contacts 6 into engagement with the contacts 6 on the counterpart contact unit against the yielding frictional resistance of the contacts themselves. If the force of the compressed springs 14 fails to effect complete engagement of the contacts 6 before the mating heads have moved into complete coupling relation, as for example, if one or both of springs 14 break, the forward end of slot 12, due to the rearward movement of the contact unit 3 relative to the cover 4, eventually comes into contact with the fixed pin 13 thereby preventing further rearward movement of said c011- tact unit and thus insuring complete engagement of the contacts 6 in an engaged or contact-making position by the time the mating heads have moved into complete 7 coupled relation.

With the mating heads in coupled relation, and therefore, with the contact units 3 in their contact-making relationship, above described, necessary electrical connections are thus made for closing respective electrical circuits (not shown), including a power loop circuit, which extend throughout the train to supply electrical current to various electrical equipment and devices, said power loop circuit serving to transmit electric current for the trains propulsion motors (not shown). The power loop circuit, which extends throughout the entire length of the train, comprises two electrical conductors (not shown) which are connected serially from car to car through the electrical circuitry-connecting portions 1 of the mating heads, and since electrical current for the propulsion motors is supplied therethrough, it is essential that the continuity of said power loop circuit be maintained without interruption in order to keep the train moving. Such continuity is provided through certain ones of the electrical contacts 6 of the contact unit 3 when the electrical circuitry-connecting portions 1 are in coupled relation. Since the mating head on the rearend of the last car in the train, however, is not coupled to a counterpart mating head for maintaining continuity of the power loop circuit, the electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1 of each of the mating heads has an electrical switch device 29 mounted therein and to which the conductors of the power loop circuit are connected.

The switch device 29 is normally in a closed position in which the power loop circuit is closed, that is, when the circuitry-connecting portion 1 on which it is carried is in an uncoupled relation. The switch device 29, however, as described in detail in the aforementioned copending application and, therefore, such detailed description not deemed necessary herein, is operable to an open position when the protective cover 26 is operated to its open position by the coupling action of the coupler mating heads, in which case the function of connecting the power loop circuit between the coupled cars is taken over by certain ones of the contacts 6 upon engagement of the contact units 3. Of course, subsequent uncoupling of the cars and consequent operation of the protective cover 26 to its closed position effects restoration of the switch device 29 to its closed position.

With the mating head and the electrical circuitryconnecting portion 1 thereof disposed in a coupled relation with a counterpart mating head, some malfunctioning of the electrical equipment, other than that controlled through the power loop circuit, may develop on the car on which said mating head is mounted. It may be desirable, therefore, to isolate and cut oif further operation of the malfunctioning electrical equipment without removing the car from the train, but it remains necessary to keep the propulsion equipment operative, at least on part of the train, in order to 'be able to move the train. Isolation of the malfunctioning equipment on the particular car affected can be effected by manually rotating shaft 19 through lever 20 out of a normal position in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, against the torsion of springs 22 and 25. Such rotation of shaft 19 causes the finger member 21, acting against pin 23 and through link member 24, to force the contact unit 3 to slide rearwardly on the aforementioned rails to a retracted position in which the contacts 6 of the main contact block 8 are disengaged from the contacts of the main contact block on the counterpart mating head, thereby interrupting the several electrical circuits, including the power loop circuit, connected by said main contact blocks of the contact units Without uncoupling the mating heads. The amount of rearward movement of the contact unit 3 is limited by contact of the forward end of slot 12 with pin 13, such amount of rearward movement being sufficient for breaking engagement of the contacts 6 of the main contact blocks 8 on the coupled mating heads.

A retractable pin (not shown) is suspended perpendicularly from the bottom of casing 2 and may "be retracted thereinto out of a suspended position by pushing upwardly on the free end of the pin, said pin being so situated that, when thus retracted, lever 20, when rotated as above described to a retracting position in which contact unit 3 is moved to its retracted position, passes underneath and past the retracted pin. When the lever 20 has moved past the pin, said pin is allowed to drop out of casing 2 into its suspended position so that said lever may be biased thereagainst by the torsion of springs 22 and 25 and held in such a position until released. With contact unit 3 in its retracted position, the springs 14 are accordingly compressed and remain so until lever 20 is released, whereupon said compressed springs are effective for restoring the contact unit to its normal position.

When, in an emergency situation, the contact unit 3 on any one car is operated to its retracted position, as immediately above described, all circuits associated with the main contact block 8, including the power loop circuit, are disrupted in said car and in any and all cars that might be coupled behind said one car. As was indicated above, however, it is necessary to maintain continuity of the power loop circuit in its least some of the cars in order to be able to move the train. For this purpose, a second switch device 30 of the self-resetting type is provided in the electrical circuitry-connecting portion 1 and to which the conductors (not shown) of the power loop circuit are connected, said switch normally being open. The switch device 30 is so situated as to be tripped and operated to a closed position by a cam member 31 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) carried at the rearward end of an arm 32 extending rearwardly from the upper support plate 9 of the multiple-contact unit 3. When the support frame and the main contact block 8 are manually retracted to their retracted position, the cam member 31 engages a trip arm 33 of the switch device 30 to effect operation of said switch device to its said closed position for maintaining continuity of the power loop circuit therethrough instead of through the contracts 6 of the main contact block 8, which are now disengaged. With the main contact block 8 in its retracted position, the interruption of the circuits normally connected through said main contact block is effective throughout the entire train with the exception of the power loop circuit which is kept closed through the closed switch device 30, but is effective only from the point of break and in those cars ahead of the disabled car. The car or cars thus supplied with propulsion current serve to tow the trailing cars, including the disabled car, to a location where the malfunction may be corrected.

During an emergency or malfunctioning, in addition to the necessity of maintaining continuity of the power loop circuit, as above explained, continuity of certain other circuits such as the car-door operating circuit, temperature control circuit, or communications circuit, for example, particularly on rapid transit passenger cars, is also essential for obvious reasons.

According to the invention, therefore, and for the purpose of maintaining continuity of certain essential circuits other than the power loop circuit during an emergency situation, a supplementary electrical contact portion comprising a pair of supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 is provided with one of said supplementary contact blocks vertically disposed at each end of the main contact block 8 adjacent to and on the outside of the respective support frame side members 10 (see FIG. 3).

Each of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 comprises a preselected number of individual contacts 36 similar to and assembled in similar manner as the contacts 6 of the main contact blocks 8, said blocks of contacts being anchored by a plurality of rods 37 to respective support members or side plates 38 and 39 disposed vertically between the respective corresponding ends of the upper support plate 9 and lower support plate 11 with the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 thus sandwiched between the side members 10 and the side plates 38 and 39, respectively.

The side plates 38 and 39 of the respective supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 are each provided with respective upper and lower oppositely projecting guide pins 40 and 41 extending into respective guide slots 42 and 43 formed in the upper support plate 9 and in the lower support plate 11 adjacent their respective ends to thereby provide a lost-motion connection between the support frame and the supplementary contact blocks. See FIGS. 1, 3 and 5. Thus, when the support frame and the main contact block 8 are manually retracted in the manner above described, said support frame and main contact block may move relatively to, but without carrying with them, the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 which remain in a contact-making or engaged position, as will presently be explained.

Each of the side plates 38 and 39, as may best be seen in FIG. 5, has formed, in the top surface thereof a limiting slot 44 coinciding longitudinally with the slot 42 formed in the plate 9, but which is considerably shorter than the slot 42. A pin 45 is perpendicularly suspended from the cover 4 and so positioned as to extend through the guide slot 42 in the plate 9 and into the limiting slot 44 in the side plate 39. A similar arrangement is provided for the side plate 38, so that each of the side plates 38 and 39, and therefore the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35, respectively, is provided with arresting means (for a purpose to be explained hereinafter) having a limited amount of lost motion relative to the cover 4. As may be seen in FIG. 5, a spring 46 having one end anchored to the side plate 39 of the supplementary contact block 35 and the other end anchored to the upper support plate 9, is under tension so as to keep the forward end of the slot 44 snugly up against the pin 45 for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. Although not shown, the side plate 38 of the supplementary contact block 34 is biased by a spring (similar to spring 46 but not shown) against the other pin 45, similarly to the side plate 39.

In considering the operation of the invention, let it be assumed that a malfunction occurs in one of the cars of a rapid transit type passenger train, such malfunction occurring as a short circuiting in one of the propulsion motors, for example, which necessitates cutting off electric current to the defective motor. The main contact block 8 of the adjacent coupler head on the adjacent car forward of the disabled car is manually retracted to and fixed in its retracted position while the cars remain coupled, as above described, whereupon all circuits normally connected through said main contact block, including the power loop circuit supplying current to the defective motor, are disconnected. As the support plate 9 moves rearwardly, the cam member 31 engages the trip arm 33 of the switch device 30 to effect closing of the power loop circuit at said switch device, thereby enabling electric current to be supplied to all propulsion motors on the cars ahead of the disabled one.

Of course, in the event that a malfunction should occur in the lead car of the train, the main contact block 8 in the coupler head at the forward end of the adjacent trailing car would be retracted to cut off the power circuit in the lead car, while the balance of the train would be powered, and the entire train could be controlled from the rear end. Or, if deemed advisable in such an event, power could be cut off from all trailing cars as well as the disabled lead car, and another train could be backed up and coupled to the disabled train for towing it to a loaction for correcting the malfunction.

In any event, as the upper support plate 9 moves rearwardly during manual retraction of the main contact block 8, the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 are restrained by the arresting means above described from moving along with said support plate and main contact block due to the fact that the forward ends of the slots 44 are abutting against the pins 45, respectively, which are fixed in the casing cover 4. The circuits connected through the contacts 36 of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35, therefore, remain uninterrupted notwithstanding retraction and disengagement of the contacts 6 of the main contact block. The slots 42 formed in the upper support plate 9 and into which the guide pins 40 extend, and the slots 43 formed in the lower support plate 11 and into which the guide pins 41 extend, are of such length as to permit uninhibited movement of the main contact block 8 to its retracted position. Thus, even though the contacts 6 of the main contact block 8, and therefore all circuits normally connected therethrough, are disconnected, the essential circuits controlling such things as the car doors, car temperature, and communications, for example, remain connected through the contacts 36 of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35.

It will be noted that during rearward movement of the main contact block 8 and the upper support plate 9 toward the rettracted position, the springs 46 are further stretched so as to increase the tension thereon, such tension of course, being effective on the side plates 38 and 39 of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35, respectively. The additional tension on the springs 46 acts in a manner similar to the torsion of springs 22 and 25 acting on the main contact block 8, as above described, in causing the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 to separate with a snap action from the counterpart supplementary contact blocks when the effect of the total friction between the several contacts 36 has been overcome during uncoupling operation of the cars, thereby minimizing arcing between the contacts as they separate.

The springs 46 are also effective for causing a snap action separation of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 during an uncoupling operation in a situation in which the main contact block 8, at the inception of the uncoupling operation, is in engaged relation with the counterpart main contact block of the counterpart coupler head rather than in a retracted position. As was previously noted, the side plates 38 and 39 of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 are each provided with respective slots 44 into which respective pins 45 project, the springs 46 acting to bias the respective side plates rearwardly so as to bring the forward ends of said slots up against said pins during such time that the coupler heads remain in a coupled relation. As the coupler heads (not shown) separate during uncoupling operation, the etfective friction between the contacts 36 of the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35, as well as the friction between the contacts 6 of the main contact blocks 8, resist separation of said contacts, and, therefore, said main contact and said supplementary contact blocks remain in a fixed engaged relation during initial separation of the circuitry-connecting portions 1, and therefore of the respective covers 4 (in which the pins 13 and 45 are anchored), until the rearward end of the slots 12 and the rearward end of the slots 44 come up against the pins 13 and the pins 45 of said main contact blocks and said supplementary contact blocks, respectively. During such time that the main contact blocks 8 and the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35 remain in a fixed engaged relation while initial separation of the circuitry-connecting portions is occurring, the torsion on springs 22 and 25 (above described), is accordingly increased. With the pins 13 and 45 against the rearward ends of the slots 12 and 44, respectively, further separation of the circuitry-connecting portions 1 commences actual separation of the contacts 6 and the contacts 36 until the torsion of springs 22 and 25, acting through the support frame, overcomes the frictional resistance of contacts 6 of the main contact block 8, and, acting through said support frame and the springs 46 (by which said support frame is connected to the supplementary contact blocks 34 and 35), overcomes the frictional resistance of contacts 36 of the supplementary contact blocks, whereupon the separation thereof is completed with a snap action and electrical arcing therebetween is minimized.

Having now described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent, is:

1. An automatic electrical connecting device for use with an automatic car coupling apparatus having one coupler head carried on one car and adapted for locking with a counterpart mating coupler head carried on another car, said automatic electrical connecting device comprising, in combination:

(a) a casing removably mountable on a coupler head and having an abutting face disposed substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the car for making abutting contact with an abutting face of an electrical connecting device on the counterpart mating coupler head,

(b) a support frame mounted in and slidably movable relative to said casing within preselected limits,

(c) a main electrical contact block carried by said support frame for engagement with a similarly disposed main electrical contact block on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least one electrical connection between the cars,

(d) a supplementary electrical contact portion carried by said support frame for engagement with a similarly disposed supplementary electrical contact portion on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least one other electrical connection between the cars,

(e) spring means for biasing said support frame and,

therefore, said main contact block and said supplementary contact portion, during such time that the coupler head is in an uncoupled condition, to respective normal positions projecting outwardly and slightly forward of said abutting face, said spring means being compressible by limited relative movement of the support frame relative to the casing effected during initial coupling operation of the coupler heads and being effective for assisting in forcing said main contact block and said supplementary contact portion into frictionally and separably locked relation with the corresponding main contact block and the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head during final coupling movement of the coupler heads,

(f) retracting means for withdrawing said support frame and said main electrical contact block, with the coupler heads in coupled relation, to a retracted position in which said main contact block is disengaged from the main contact block on the counterpart coupler head for breaking electrical connections therebetween, and

(g) a lost-motion connection between said support frame and said supplementary electrical contact portion for providing relative movement therebetween and enabling such withdrawal of said main electrical contact block to said retracted position independently of the supplementary contact portion which remains in its said locked relation with the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head for maintaining said other electrical connection.

2. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 1, further characterized by latching means for retaining said support frame and said main contact block in said retracted position.

3. An automatic electrical connection device, as defined in claim 1, further characterized by a second lost-motion connection between said casing and said supplementary electrical contact portion, said second lost-motion connection comprising a longitudinally disposed slot in said supplementary contact portion and a pin having one end fixed in the casing and extending perpedicularly therefrom so as to have the other end slidably disposed in said slot, said second lost-motion connection being effective, upon withdrawal of said support frame and said main contact block to said retracted position, for arresting said supplementary contact portion against movement from its locked relation with the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head.

4. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 3, further characterized by second spring means having one end connected to said support frame and the other end connected to said supplementary contact portion, said second spring means being tensioned by withdrawal of said main contact block to its said retracted position and being eifective, after a limited] amount of relative movement between the casing and the supplementary contact portion as determined by said second lost-motion connection during initial separation of the coupler heads when uncoupling, for causing separation of said supplementary contact portion from the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head with a snap action.

5. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 1, wherein said supplementary electrical contact portion comprises a pair of supplementary electrical contact blocks disposed one at each side of and adjacent said main contact block, said main contact block and each of said supplementary contact blocks comprising a plurality of electrical contact elements engageable respectively with corresponding electrical contact elements of similar flilllllities of contact elements on the counterpart coupler 6. An automatic electrical connecting device for use with an automatic car coupling apparatus having one coupler head carried on one car and adapted for locking with a counterpart mating coupler head carried on another car, said automatic electrical connecting device comprising, in combination:

(a) a casing removably mountable on a coupler head and having an abutting face disposed substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the car for making abutting contact with an abutting face of an electrical connecting device on the counterpart mating coupler head,

(b) a support frame mounted in and slidably movable relative to said casing within prescribed limits,

(c) a main electrical contact block carried by said support frame for engagement with a similarly disposed main electrical contact block on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least one electrical connection between the cars,

(d) a supplementary electrical contact portion carried by said support frame for engagement with a similarly disposed supplementary electrical contact portion on the counterpart coupler head for providing at least one other electrical connection between the cars,

(e) first spring means acting on said support frame for biasing said main contact block and said supplementary contact portion, when the coupler heads are uncoupled, to respective normal positions projecting outwardly and slightly forward of said abutting face, said first spring means being compressible by limited relative movement, in one direction, between the easing and the support frame effected during initial coupling action of the coupler heads and thereafter being effective for assisting the casing acting through the support frame in forcing said main contact block into frictionally and separably locked relation with the corresponding main contact block on the counterpart coupler head during final coupling movement of the coupler heads,

(f) a lost-motion connection between said casing and said supplementary contact portion providing limited relative movement therebetween for effecting positive engagement between said supplementary contact portion and the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head during coupling movement of the coupler heads,

(g) second spring means tensioned by limited relative movement in a direction opposite to said one direction, between said casing and said support frame effected during initial separating movement of the coupler heads, said second spring means being effective, when so tensioned, for causing said main contact block to separate from the main contact block on the counterpart coupler head with a snap-action,

once the frictional resistance therebetween is overcome, for minimizing electrical arcing therebetween upon separation, and

(h) resilient means interconnecting said support frame and said supplementary contact portion for separating said supplementary contact portion from the supplementary contact portion on the counterpart coupler head upon said separation of the main contact block by the support frame.

7. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 6, further characterized by a lost-motion connection between said casing and said support frame for providing said limited relative movement therebetween in opposite directions, and wherein said second spring means, acting through said support frame and said resilient means, is effective for causing said separation of said supplementary contact portion from a counterpart supplementary contact portion with a snap-action also.

8. An automatic electrical connecting device, as defined in claim 7, wherein said lost-motion connection between said casing and said support frame is effective upon termination of said relative movement in said one direction between the casing and the support frame for positively eifecting said locked relation of the main contact block with the main contact block on the counterpart coupler head upon coupling of the coupler heads.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,455,81 5/1923 Westinghouse 213-1.3 3,249,239 5/1966 Herbert et a1. 2l31.6 3,385,454 5/1968 Jeffrey et al 213--l.3

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

